An embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) is formed by embedding (packaging, welding, or the like) a conventional universal integrated circuit card (UICC) into a terminal, which cannot be inserted or removed, and cannot be freely changed as a conventional UICC card either.
An existing subscriber identity module (SIM) card or UICC card is generally ordered by a mobile network operator (MNO) from a card manufacturer, and therefore, subscription information that is needed for accessing a network of a mobile operator has been downloaded into the card before factory delivery. After purchasing a SIM card or a UICC card, a user can access a network after inserting the card into a terminal. However, an eUICC is unnecessarily purchased by an operator, and may be integrated into a terminal for selling after a terminal manufacturer purchases the card. Therefore, in a profile of the eUICC, only one file can access a remote management platform (such as a subscription manager-secure routing (SM-SR)). After the eUICC is embedded into the terminal, a profile (marked as a profile) of an operator may be downloaded into the eUICC according to a remote management technology using a subscription manager-data preparing (SM-DP) and the SM-SR. Then, the eUICC may access a network using the downloaded profile.
Currently, the Global System for Mobile Communications Assembly (GMSA) formulates a method for downloading a profile of an operator, and a procedure of the method is generally includes the following steps.
Step 1: An MNO sends, to an SM-DP, a request for downloading a profile, where the request carries an identity (ID) of an SM-SR, an ID of a target eUICC (eID), and an integrated circuit card identity (ICCID) of the profile that needs to be downloaded.
Step 2: The SM-DP finds, according to the ID of the SM-SR, an SM-SR with which the eUICC currently registers.
Step 3: The SM-DP requests related information (which is included in an eUICC information set (EIS), and may specifically include a type, a version number, a production data that are of the eUICC, a credential of the eUICC, current files that are of various operators and are in the eUICC and statuses of the profiles, current storage space of the eUICC, and the like) of the eUICC from the SM-SR.
Step 4: The SM-DP determines, according to the EIS, whether the profile can be downloaded into the eUICC (for example, the SM-DP determines whether the credential of the eUICC is valid, whether the storage space of the eUICC is sufficient, and the like).
Step 5: If the SM-DP finds that the profile cannot be downloaded into the eUICC (for example, the SM-DP determines that the credential of the eUICC is invalid, or the storage space of the eUICC is insufficient), the SM-DP returns error information to the SM-SR and the MNO.
Step 6: If the SM-DP finds that the profile can be downloaded into the eUICC, the SM-DP sends a request for downloading and installing the profile, and sends an encrypted profile to the eUICC; the eUICC decrypts the profile and installs the profile.
It can be learned from the foregoing procedure that, in other approaches, a procedure for downloading a profile is sent from a network side (MNO), and the MNO needs to know an identity (ID) of an eUICC in advance. However, different from a UICC, the eUICC is unnecessarily purchased by the MNO, and may be purchased by a device manufacturer; therefore, the MNO unnecessarily knows the ID of the eUICC in advance. When the MNO does not know an ID of an eUICC of a device, the solution in the other approaches cannot be implemented. In addition, in the other approaches, an object that can download the profile are only some authorized eUICCs. In addition, because the request for downloading the profile is sent from the MNO on the network side, it is required to ensure that when the profile is being downloaded, a terminal device has been started and a connection between the terminal device and an SM-SR has been established, and an end user cannot freely select an opportunity for downloading the profile.